R
the fifteenth letter of the Ogham alphabet
, in Irish called
ruis `
elder-tree
',
Auraic. 1138
,
1193
=
4229
,
4293
.
In Old Irish r is of four kinds, according as it is unlenited or
lenited, non-palatal or palatal. According to the evidence of
5modern dialects, Old Irish r was lenited in the following posi-
tions: initially when subject to lenition in sandhi; medially
after all consonants except l, n, s, before consonants except
d, n, t, l, s, and between vowels; in final position.
In Old Irish, unlenited R, R' was written rr when final,
10and sometimes medially before consonants. Initially it was
written r. Initial rr- represents r- geminated in sandhi.
Intervocalic and final rr represent an old geminated r, arising
(a) in compounds, (b) by syncope, or (c) by assimilation, which
resisted lenition in the early period, and survives occasionally
15in northern Irish. This germinated intervocalic or final -rr is
still so written in Modern Irish (Thurneysen,
Hdb. §§ 116
-
18
,
145
,
151
;
Ped. i 142
;
CCG § 66
;
NTS v 135
).
In modern dialects r is usually lenited in all positions. For
examples of survival of unlenited R in northern Irish the
20monographs must be consulted. Original unlenited palatal
R' has everywhere fallen together with lenited non-palatal r(
Sommerfelt, Dialect of Torr, §§ 236
-
7
;
Ó Máille, Urlabhraidh-
eacht, § 131
;
O'Rahilly, Irish Dialects, 204
).
Lenited non-palatal r is an ordinary trilled lingual r. The
25palatal type is discussed by
Quiggin, Dialect of Donegal, § 282
.
The unlenited form, where it survives, is more tensely articu-
lated than in other European languages, and probably longer
(
Hdb. § 132
;
Quiggin, Dialect of Donegal § 266
).